Gadget Freak Case File #174: Bus Alert

Bus Alert - Dash for the Curb

When is the bus going to get here? Miles Moody is a busy undergraduate engineering student at the University of Florida. He takes the bus to school, but the bus schedule is slightly inconsistent. He hates waiting for it. The city of Gainesville put GPS devices on their buses so riders could track the location of the bus online. Moody created a device with a buzzer that tells him when the bus is almost at his apartment. Now he can dash out just in time - no more waiting.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.